NCLA Review - This book has already found a permanent place on my desktop. John F. A. Sawyer, an Old Testament scholar, has done us all a favor by rescuing the Bible dictionary from a boring, predictable reference work, to a volume which is both engaging and informative. If you already have a Bible dictionary you will still want to add this to your collection. Unlike other Bible dictionaries, this work approaches things from an objective and subjective point of view—addressing not only what it means in the Bible, but what it has meant to those who have been engaged by it. You will not find here everything that is covered in a normal Bible dictionary, but what is covered is done in a way that makes you want to return to it again and again. Just imagine a Bible dictionary which contains entries from T.S. Eliot to the Talmud—from Verdi to the Virgin Mary. The author provides a helpful list of books for further reference, and an exhaustive index of biblical references. Rating: 4 —WS ( )